It is no secret that employers struggle to identify, hire, and retain top talent. Given technological advances and increased globalization, the need to access and hire specialized talent in an efficient and cost-effective manner will likely only increase in the future. Companies may also struggle with determining the best staffing solutions as they enter new industries, obtain new customers, or try to keep up with and manage their growth. Notably, companies also struggle to develop initiatives that allow them to identify and retain specialized experts on a short term or on demand basis to tackle difficult but short-term problems. For companies in need of short-term specialized expertise, professional learning networks offer an on-demand model for access to diverse talent pools that do not exist in-house and often times would not make sense for companies to expend resources building and maintaining on a long-term basis.

When you think of the gig economy, many of us think of Uber, Task Rabbit, or some other gig shrouded in an entrepreneurial-type aspiration. You think of a person setting their own hours, working for themselves, maybe stringing together several “gigs” to make that ideal work schedule and being their own boss. Well, Wonolo, and companies like it, may be changing this paradigm.

Traditional employers are continuing to discover that they can benefit from the gig economy through the utilization of external platforms to hire contract workers. Sometimes companies are caught off-guard by a sudden uptick in demand or an employee resignation and suffer from the detailed and drawn out process of hiring a long-term employee. Employers are increasingly eliminating staffing lag time by relying upon gig platforms to efficiently hire and onboard workers for short-term needs during peak demand cycles.

As the gig economy continues to grow, (https://www.fisherphillips.com/gig-employer/did-gig-economy-growth-contribute-to-strong) some employers may become accustomed to creating external job postings for short-term and freelance projects. However, in doing so employers could be ignoring a more obvious talent pool: their own employees. By creating an internal gig economy platform to notify employees of short-term and freelance projects, employers can create the opportunity for employees to apply for side-projects that they find interesting and that will also allow the employee to enhance the organization. In doing so, businesses can also avoid the unknowns of hiring an unfamiliar freelance worker and can quickly meet the staffing demands for short-term but important projects. Additionally, employees may be able to refer other skilled freelancers to their employer.

If you’re not already listening to the GaryVee Audio Experience Podcast, I recommend starting immediately. Former immigrant turned multi-millionaire Gary Vaynerchuk offers some of the best advice I’ve heard in succeeding in today’s social media and technology-driven society, including why so many Americans are turning to the gig economy to complete tasks and make a living.